Saturday, August 11, 2012

Skeleton of young woman surrounded by hundreds of human bones found five metres beneath Templo Mayor in Mexico City

Mexican archaeologists say they have found an unprecedented human burial in which the skeleton of a young woman is surrounded by piles of 1,789 human bones in Mexico City's Templo Mayor.

Researchers found the burial about five metres (15ft) below the surface, next to the remains of what may have been a sacred tree at one edge of the plaza, the most sacred site of the Aztec capital. The National Institute of Anthropology and History said the find was the first of its kind, noting the Aztecs were not known to use mass sacrifice or the reburial of bones for the interment of a member of the ruling class.

University of Florida archaeologist Susan Gillespie, who was not involved in the project, called the find "unprecedented for the Aztec culture". She said on Tuesday that when the Mayas interred sacrifice victims with royal burials, but they were usually found as complete bodies. And, except for special circumstances, the Aztecs, unlike other pre-Hispanic cultures, usually cremated members of the elite during their rule from 1325 to the Spanish conquest in 1521.

"Although the bodies of sacrificial victims have been found in burials of elite persons in Mesoamerica going back to at least the preclassic period, funerary deposits for Aztec elites have only rarely been encountered," said Gillespie.

The institute said some of the bones showed what may be cut marks to the sternum or vertebrae, places where a ritual heart extraction might leave a mark, but added that it did not seem likely the dead were sacrificed on the spot to accompany the burial because their bones were found separated.
The researchers discovered the skulls of seven adults and three children in one pile, long bones including femurs in another grouping, and ribs in another.

The physical anthropologist Perla Ruiz, who was in charge of the dig, said that might suggest the bones were disinterred from previous burials and reburied with the woman. While some pre-Hispanic cultures disinterred bones as part of ancestor worship, it is not clear the Aztecs did.

The burial dates to about 1481-1486, based on the "stage" of temple buildings at which they were found. The Templo Mayor, like many sites, was rebuilt by successive generations, one stage atop another.

Another unusual finding was the sacred tree, actually a rather battered oak trunk found planted on a small, round platform near the burial at what would have been the edge of the temple complex. It may be a couple of decades older than the burial.

The Aztecs, like other pre-Hispanic cultures, venerated trees, believing they had spiritual importance.
Institute archaeologist Raúl Barrera said it may be related to the four sacred trees the Aztecs believed held up the sky, but Gillespie noted it could also have been a tree or trunk brought in for an annual ceremony.

"It seems to have been positioned there for a span of time, perhaps for a special ceremony or to create a particular vision of a sacred landscape, but then abandoned as uses of that limited sacred space changed over time," Gillespie said.

Barrera said the tree trunk appeared to have been split, perhaps intentionally.

A sacred tree burial, heh? Interesting, very interesting. Refer to our research on Sacred Places/Sacred Spaces at Goddesschess Discussion Group at Delphi Forums, for instance, for "vintage" discussions!

Mexican archaeologists discovered a pre-Columbian grave containing human skeletal remains along with relics of a "sacred tree" near the archaeological site of the Great Temple of Tenochtitlan in the historical downtown area of Mexico City, the Mexican National Anthropology and History Institute, or INAH, said.

Found in the burial ground dating back more than 500 years were the complete skeleton of a woman and over a thousand human bones of children, young people and adults.

The discovery is "the only one of its kind" from the Mexica culture, the archaeologist heading INAH's Urban Archaeological Program, Raul Barrera Rodriguez, said.

Though other multiple burials have been found in the past, "this is the first where the skeleton of an adult is accompanied by bones and bone fragments from humans of different ages," Barrera said.

Apart from the grave, the specialists found a circular structure of red volcanic rock with a tree trunk in its center that, according to the archaeologists, "would be one of the sacred trees" associated with the god of war Huitzilopochtli, one of the chief figures in Mexica cosmogony and one of the deities to whom the Great Temple was dedicated.

The discoveries occurred in an area called Manuel Gamio Plaza in the course of building an access corridor to the archaeological site and to the museum of the Great Temple, the INAH said.

The skeletal remains were found at about 5 meters (16 feet) under street level, and were beneath a floor of basalt slabs laid at a stage of the Great Temple of Tenochtitlan's construction between the years 1481 and 1486, so that the mass grave dates back to that time, Barrera said.

"The complete skeleton was found on the west side of the burial site, while the rest of the bones were placed around it, some of them grouped in small compositions, particularly in the case of ribs and femurs," Barrera said. EFE

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So, what does this mean? Were the bones of others buried around the woman for a particular reason? Were the bones buried at the same time as the woman was, or afterward? Over a long time span or a short time span? Who was the woman? And is there a relationship to the remains of the Sacred Tree?

While the Canadian ladies were leaving their national championship (a zonal) like a Plague of Locusts had descended upon the playing venue (FOUR players left before the final round - yep, FOUR!), the chess dudes were battling in the National Closed (also a zonal) for a spot in the 2013 World Cup and the money it promises, even if you get knocked out in the first round. It's the same thing with the Canadian's women's representative who will be making an appearing at the 2012 FIDE Women's World Chess Championship in Siberia Russia (I'm NOT kidding - it's going to be in SIBERIA!) Even if a player does not advance very far in the rounds because of the knock-out format utilized, there is a generous prize structure so players at these events do not come home empty-handed.

You can read all of the details about the Women's Championship/Zonal at the special pages I put up for the 2012 Goddesschess Canadian Women's Chess Championship -- you can find the links near the top of the home page in the left hand column.

Here are the final standings for the Canadian Chess Championship (Zonal):

I believe there are some people who are saying I am being too harsh, that players leave tournaments all the time. Yeah, right. They walk out on national championships all the time? Not that I've read about. Of course, I have not read every single thing ever printed or written about every single national championship that has been held since the world began until this very instant, so I must qualify my indignation with that caveat. Dudes - if you can't handle not making a "reputable" score, why did you sign up to begin with, knowing what the level of competition was going to be? I know that things happen, but walking out on a national championship just because you don't like your score -- well, that's just bogus.

Same question for the ladies.

I know of only one instance where there are what I consider extenuating circumstances that justified a player leaving before the Women's Championship was completed. Perhaps there are others. But - really - come on, people. Show a little respect for the institutions - for the titles you were allegedly playing for!

Situated at a major crossroads of the ancient Silk Road, Dunhuang is one of the world’s most esteemed cultural heritage sites. Dunhuang: Buddhist Art at the Gateway of the Silk Road brings into vivid focus the customs and practices of local Buddhists and illuminates the significance of the city as a crucial point of cultural exchange between East and West. Featuring sculpture, painted clay reliefs, calligraphy, Buddhist scriptures, and modeled bricks from the caves, this exhibition introduces the art and ritual practices from the golden eras of the Northern Wei and Tang dynasties. The diverse cultural history at Dunhuang is reflected in the evolution of the motifs and styles at work in these paintings and sculptures, and the crucial intersections of secular and religious, national and international, and East and West are revealed in these exceptional artifacts.This exhibition is organized by China Institute Gallery and the Dunhuang Academy. It is curated by Fan Jinshi, Director of the Dunhuang Academy.

Friday, August 10, 2012

About 20 ivory statuettes estimated to be around 4,500 years old have been discovered in an archaeological dig in eastern Portugal, a first in the country, archaeologist António Valério said this week.

"This is the first time pieces with such characteristics have appeared in Portugal", Valério told Lusa News Agency, adding that similar finds had been made earlier in southern Spain. He said the statuettes appeared to be funeral objects as they were discovered in an area of the Perdigões archaeological complex which had been used for cremations between the late Neolithic and early Bronze Age.

He dated the pieces to the middle of the third millennium BC, making them some 4,500 years old.

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

I can't even begin to imagine the POWER of a volcanic eruption that was EIGHT TIMES MORE POWERFUL THAN KRAKATOA! The results to London's population at the time were catastrophic. Imagine losing a quarter or more of the people who used to live all around you...

And this was probably occuring all around the world. But in the late 1200's record-keeping may have been hit or miss, some populations may have lost their literate compatriots (priests and monks, for instance). Who knows? Perhaps if historians begin to dig through what records are available, they will find written evidence for this climate-changing eruption.

When archaeologists discovered thousands of medieval skeletons in a mass burial pit in east London in the 1990s, they assumed they were 14th-century victims of the Black Death or the Great Famine of 1315-17. Now they have been astonished by a more explosive explanation – a cataclysmic volcano that had erupted a century earlier, thousands of miles away in the tropics, and wrought havoc on medieval Britons.

Scientific evidence – including radiocarbon dating of the bones and geological data from across the globe – shows for the first time that mass fatalities in the 13th century were caused by one of the largest volcanic eruptions of the past 10,000 years.

Such was the size of the eruption that its sulphurous gases would have released a stratospheric aerosol veil or dry fog that blocked out sunlight, altered atmospheric circulation patterns and cooled the Earth's surface. It caused crops to wither, bringing famine, pestilence and death.

deaths required capacious burial pits, as recorded in contemporary accounts. In 1258, a monk reported: "The north wind prevailed for several months… scarcely a small rare flower or shooting germ appeared, whence the hope of harvest was uncertain... Innumerable multitudes of poor people died, and their bodies were found lying all about swollen from want… Nor did those who had homes dare to harbour the sick and dying, for fear of infection… The pestilence was immense – insufferable; it attacked the poor particularly. In London alone 15,000 of the poor perished; in England and elsewhere thousands died."

There does not seem to have been any explanation at the time; it was probably assumed to be a punishment from God. London's population at the time was around 50,000, so the loss of 15,000 would have radically changed the city.

Surprisingly, perhaps, the volcano's exact location has yet to be established. Mexico, Ecuador and Indonesia are the most likely areas, according to vulcanologists, who found evidence in ice cores from the northern hemisphere and Antarctic and within a thick layer of ash from Lake Malawi sediments. The ice core sulphate concentration shows that it was up to eight times higher than Indonesia's Krakatoa eruption of 1883, one of the most catastrophic in history.

Some 10,500 medieval skeletons were found at Spitalfields market, the site of the Augustinian priory and hospital of St Mary Spital, and the remains suggest there may have been as many as 18,000. The excavation between 1991 and 2007 by the Museum of London Archaeology (Mola) was the largest ever archaeological investigation in the capital. It was a member of that team, osteologist Don Walker, who discovered the link with a volcano. The findings will be revealed in Mola's report, to be published on Monday.

Vulcanologist Bill McGuire said: "This was the biggest eruption in historic times. It may have brought the temperatures down by 4C, a huge amount."

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"Advanced Chess" Leon 2002

About Me

I'm one of the founders of Goddesschess, which went online May 6, 1999. I earned an under-graduate degree in history and economics going to college part-time nights, weekends and summer school while working full-time, and went on to earn a post-graduate degree (J.D.) I love the challenge of research, and spend my spare time reading and writing about my favorite subjects, travelling and working in my gardens. My family and my friends are most important in my life. For the second half of my life, I'm focusing on "doable" things to help local chess initiatives, starting in my own home town. And I'm experiencing a sort of personal "Renaissance" that is leaving me rather breathless...